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323295097516Worming Chickens and Other Poultryhttps://poultrykeeper.com/general-chickens/worming-chickens/
https://poultrykeeper.com/general-chickens/worming-chickens/#respondSat, 07 Jul 2018 17:32:16 +0000http://www.bedfordshire-poultry.co.uk/?p=2591This article describes common worms that infect chickens, the symptoms of worms, how you can reduce the worm burden by worming chickens and what products you can use and how often. Most of this information is common to all poultry, but I talk mostly about chickens for simplicity. A separate article has been written here specifically on Worming Ducks.

Worming chickens and other poultry is a straight forward process, but it does help to know a little bit about the worms that are likely to infect your birds and their life-cycle so you can control and manage their numbers, minimising the worm burden on your flock.

Ectoparasites are found on the outside of your chickens – an example being lice or mites such as Northern Fowl mite. Endoparasites on the other hand are found on the inside of your birds body and are referred to as Helminths in the veterinary world which is a term used to cover a wide range of internal parasites or ‘worms’ as we commonly call them. (Image courtesy of Elanco).

The most important group of worms that concern us are called Nematodes. These worms inhabit various parts of the digestive tract and are listed below. All of the worms listed are part of this group, with the exception of Tapeworms which are part of a group called Cestodes.

The links take you to more information about a particular kind of worm. Perhaps you know which worms are infecting your chickens and want to learn more about them.

The following types of worms can be found in poultry:

Hair worm – Found in the crop, oesophagus, proventriculus and intestine. Also called Capillaria.

Worming chickens is important because most infections of these worms can cause damage and eventually death. So let’s look at the life-cycle of these worms to understand them a bit more.

The life-cycle of poultry worms

There are two ways worms are commonly picked up by chickens (excuse my terrible drawing, I never was good at art, if someone is interested in re-drawing this for me?).

1Direct Life-cycle: Worm eggs are expelled from an infected bird in droppings, by the thousands. These eggs sit on the ground surviving for up to a year before being picked up by birds foraging when they are feeding. Large Roundworm, Gizzard worm (that affects geese), Hair worms and Caecal worms follow a direct life-cycle. Hair worms can also follow an indirect life-cycle.

2Indirect Life-cycle: Worm eggs are expelled from an infected bird by the thousand. This can be in droppings, or in the case of gapeworm that are found in the respiratory system, coughed up. Worm eggs are not infective at this stage. Intermediate hosts, (such as earthworms, slugs, snails and centipedes) will eat these eggs and (you’ve guessed it) your chickens will eat these intermediate hosts and the worm eggs they have ingested and your birds become infected. The larvae hatch inside your chickens and the cycle repeats. Hair worms, Gapeworms and Tapeworms follow an indirect life-cycle although hair worms can also follow a direct life-cycle as well.

Health problems caused by worms

Many health problems that your occur can be related to an infestation of worms of some sort, so it is important to not only worm your birds regularly but manage houses and runs correctly in between worming treatments (more on this later though).

Signs and symptoms of worms

The signs and symptoms of chickens with worms are listed under each particular type of worm on the individual pages via the links above, but there are many different symptoms and the first question a vet will usually ask when examining a sick bird is “When was he / she last wormed…?” so it is worth ensuring you have a worming routine just to make sure you don’t have problems.

The most common symptoms are loss of weight / poor weight gain, increased feed consumption, pale yolk colour, diarrhoea and in severe cases, anaemia (pale comb and wattles) mortality. In the case of gapeworm, chickens will gasp for breath or ‘gape’ stretching their neck.

Diagnosing worms

Getting a ‘worm egg count’ is the way a vet would diagnose a case of worms. You don’t have to go to your vet to get this done any more, it can be done by submitting some fresh droppings (from as many of your birds as possible in your flock, try to include Caecal droppings too – the yellow-brown foamy coloured dropping that is expelled every 24 hours or so) to a poultry veterinary laboratory service.

The worm egg count kit contains everything you need to collect and send off the sample to the lab, then the results are sent to you after they have examined the samples under the microscope. Expect to pay £12-18 for a kit compared to £40 upwards at a vets.

Many poultry keepers are using these kits now as the price of Flubenvet has gone up dramatically and has become harder and harder to find. Add to this the fact that routine worming causes drug resistance, it’s always better not to treat your birds unless you really have to.

Damage caused by worms

The damage caused by worms will be in the part of the digestive tract (or respiratory tract in the case of gapeworm) in which the worms live.

Typically, in the gut, worms cause anaemia and haemorrhaging and in sufficient numbers can impact (block) the gut. They not only damage the gut but also take nutrients and their waste releases toxins.

The photograph right (courtesy of Elanco) shows an impacted gut, full of roundworms. As you can see, it isn’t very nice.

The next photo shows gapeworms in the trachea (the wind-pipe) of the respiratory system.

The gapeworms are red in colour and Y-shaped.

Looking out for worms

One of the things you can do in keeping an eye out for worms is to inspect droppings regularly, although unless there are large numbers of worms, there aren’t always worms present in droppings but you may like to do this to see what comes out when worming your chickens.

A sheet of newspaper on the floor under the perches (weighted down on the edges so it doesn’t move when birds flap their wings) can be used to collect droppings. A jam jar part filled with water can be used to separate droppings by shaking and then to inspect the contents by holding it up to the light.

Here is a brief description of the most common worms:

Hair worms – as the name suggests are really thin. They are up to 1.5cm long but hard to see with the naked eye. Normally, in a post-mortem, intestinal scrapings will be mixed with water in a petri-dish and the thin white threads can then be seen against a black background.

Roundworms – are the easiest to spot although there are often only a few adult worms in the small intestine, up to 8cm long, that look like spaghetti.
The photo to the right was taken on day 2 of administering Flubenvet, a wormer (in the U.K.) to a group of hens.

Gizzard worms that affect geese can be found after death. Goslings raised on pasture with older geese are particularly vulnerable. They will stop growing and slowly waste away. Take the gizzard and swill it around in a jam jar full of water. Hold it up to the light and you will usually see very fine gizzard worms around 2cm long coming away from the mucous lining. Weight loss is usually the first sign which you will notice if you handle your goslings regularly.

Tapeworm – are very small reaching only 3-4mm long and are hard to spot due to their size. Tape worm segments that are shed and deposited in droppings are much easier to spot. The photo right (courtesy of chickenvet) shows a dropping with tapeworm segments clearly visible.

Gapeworm – are red in colour, up to 2cm long and Y-shaped. This is the male and female joined together (how romantic!). You may see chickens gasping for breath (gaping) as shown earlier in this article. They are much more common in pheasants and your chickens are more likely to pick up gapeworm if they free range on ground that has pheasants visiting.

Caecal worms – are grey to white in colour up to 1.5cm long and are S-shaped.

Worm eggs are too small to be visible with the naked eye and have to be identified under a microscope.

Good husbandry – preventing worms

Here are some tips to making life more difficult for worms.

Worm eggs thrive in wet, warm, muddy areas. Remove muddy areas such as those found by pop-holes by creating hard standing or free draining gravel.

Worm eggs cannot develop when it is very dry, when the temperature is below 10˚C or above 35˚C. Worm chickens as the temperature rises in spring.

Worm eggs are destroyed by Ultra-violet Light (UV) from the sun. Keep grass short and rotate pasture in the summer if you can to help prevent a build up of worm eggs.

Keep litter in poultry houses fresh and always ensure it is dry.

Prevention is always easier than cure so follow good husbandry techniques and combined with regular worming (according to the manufacturer’s instructions), you shouldn’t see any problems.

Products that can be used to help reduce worms

Click image to Buy

Diatom (in feed), Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) and fresh crushed Garlic (both usually given in water). These are believed to make the gut an unpleasant place for worms. Before wormers were invented, garlic cloves crushed into water was often the remedy given in the old poultry books.

Verm-X, is the market leader in herbal ‘gut sanitisers’ and it is not supposed to be called a wormer. There is more on Verm-X below under herbal products.

Sanitising powders such as Net Tex Ground Sanitising Powder used on the floor of the coop and run absorbs moisture and oxygen from worm larvae and faeces where parasitic worm eggs would develop and mature.

Products to worm poultry

There are a number of different wormers available in the UK. Some are not licensed for poultry but vets can prescribe these under what is known as their ‘clinical judgement’ if there isn’t a licensed alternative available. They will advise you on an egg withdrawal period for unlicensed products which by law has to be a minimum of 7 days.

Flubenvet – in the UK, this is currently the only licensed in feed wormer for Chickens, Turkeys, Geese and Pheasants that can be mixed with your poultry feed.

If you want to buy Flubenvet now, you can buy it here in pre-mixed in layers pellets. If you want to look at the different size packs and ways to buy it with their pros and cons then the options are presented in the tabs below.

Which Flubenvet is right for you?

As a general rule of thumb 20Kg feed is enough for 20 large fowl chickens for 1 week but different breeds consume different amounts and consumption varies according to the time of year (in winter they eat more to keep warm).

Other wormers

Solubenol – A water-soluble wormer used for the treatment of worm infestations caused by large roundworm, caecal worm and capillaria worms. This is often used commercially so will sometimes be in stock at your vets but beware, it needs careful mixing and must be used in quite a short time by your hens.

Ivermectin – An anti-parasite medication, effective against most worms, mites and some lice including scaly leg mite and northern fowl mite. Ivermectin pour-on / drops is applied to the skin. Unlicensed for use in poultry so should only be used at the advice of your vet but is still a very popular treatment because of its dual use killing lice / mites as well.

The number of worm species that are killed by Ivermectin is more limited. Victoria Roberts book ‘Diseases in Free Range Poultry’ suggests that tapeworm and fluke are excluded.

Panacur – A wormer that is commonly used for cats and dogs but is a broad spectrum wormer that some vets may prescribe for poultry. Unlicensed for use in poultry and only available on prescription from your vet.

Herbal products

Click on the Image to Buy

Herbal products – may – only reduce worm numbers and – may – not be as effective as using a chemical wormer. The approach I have taken with my own birds is to use herbal / organic products on a monthly basis but still use chemical wormers (Flubenvet) every 6 months routinely and I would use Flubenvet if my birds had a suspected worm problem.

Verm-X (click to see my review) is the market leader in herbal ‘intestinal hygiene’ products and is suitable for use in Organic production.

Verm–X is not a licensed medicine which is why it cannot be called a ‘wormer’ or ‘anthelmintic’ and in the same vain the company producing Verm-X are not allowed to publicise client testimonials, test results or describe the properties of each herb they use so it’s hard for them to show its efficacy. You can buy Verm-X here.

When to repeat treatment

If you are worming as part of a prevention routine, most poultry keepers worm at least every 3-6 months with Flubenvet. As a minimum, in the spring before the breeding season, as the temperature rises and worm eggs become infective and again at the end of summer as egg numbers decline.

However, if you know your chickens have worms or you see worms expelled in droppings after treating your birds with Flubenvet, then do remember that this kills the worms they are carryingbut does nothing about the worm eggs that are on the floor of the run and in the intermediate hosts such as slugs, snails and earthworms. You do need an ongoing treatment plan to kill the worms that develop over the coming weeks as a result of the eggs that get picked up.

The life-cycle of the worm varies between 2 and 8 weeks (see the information below) and is called the “prepatent period” of the worm, so you will need to repeat treatment before these eggs develop into egg laying adult worms producing thousands more eggs.

Note that during the prepatent phase of infection, poultry can harbour lots of immature worms that are not laying eggs, so no eggs will be present in the droppings.

Treatment should be repeated within this period, 3 weeks after the end of the last treatment (2 weeks for geese) is a good compromise if you don’t know the type of worms that are infecting your birds.Prepatent period of common poultry worms:

Hair worms – 20 to 60 days depending on the type of Hair worm.

Round Worms – 35 to 56 days faster in young growing birds.

Gizzard worms and tapeworms -14 to 22 days.

Gapeworm – 18 to 20 days

Caecal worms – 24 to 30 days.

It very much depends on how your birds are kept and managed as to how many worms they will get. Infection may persist for many years, on well used ground but with good husbandry and regular worming, you shouldn’t have too many problems.

]]>https://poultrykeeper.com/general-chickens/worming-chickens/feed/02591The Ultimate Guide to Chicken Houseshttps://poultrykeeper.com/housing-chickens/chicken-houses-the-ultimate-guide/
https://poultrykeeper.com/housing-chickens/chicken-houses-the-ultimate-guide/#respondSat, 30 Dec 2017 04:48:44 +0000https://poultrykeeper.com/?p=8163The chicken-house or coop is usually considerably more expensive than the chickens who will live in it. While the choice of chicken houses has never been wider, and purchasing one has never been simpler, it’s never been easier to make a costly mistake. Poor quality or workmanship will not only prove uneconomical in the long-term, but may cause problems for you and suffering for your chickens.
Over the next few pages, we’ll be helping you to make the right decision when buying a chicken coop, exploring the different types of housing, and in a separate article, looking at individual makes and over the coming months road-testing as many as possible ourselves. The eventual aim is to provide you with: The Ultimate Guide to Chicken Housing!

What to look for in a chicken coop

Seductive designs, tempting prices, traditional wood, new-fangled plastic – today’s excess of choice doesn’t always make life simpler. The good news is that the chickens’ basic requirements are still the same, and if the coop can give them what they need then you won’t go far wrong.

Security

It’s fairly easy to keep chickens in, but more difficult to keep everything else out. If the coop isn’t secure against predators your chickens won’t be around for long, so this must be a top priority.

Imagine being very hungry and knowing a feast awaits inside that chicken-coop. Could you easily smash your way in? What if you had sharp claws and strong teeth to help your endeavours? Badgers, for example, have been known to rip the entire side off a flimsy chicken-house to get at the occupants.

A bolt provides security on the door of this chicken house.

What if you were slim and flexible enough to slip through the smallest gap? Is there any access for rats, weasels or stoats?

Doors are often a weak spot, especially those with weak hinges and catches. Swivel catches tend to work loose and can be turned with a paw. Look for a house with sturdy bolts and robust fixings. Check that nest-boxes with outside access aren’t vulnerable to predators.

Two legged foxes

Chicken thefts are becoming ever more prevalent, so good padlocks on housing may be a wise precaution depending on where you live. Any window or ventilation holes should be covered with small-gauge wire mesh.

Chicken houses with run attachments

If the coop has a run attached, this too should be constructed from small-gauge welded mesh. Chicken-wire can be bitten through and is really only effective for keeping chickens contained.

Make sure the run is well-made and secure, with a roof to prevent predators climbing in. There may also be an option of an anti-dig ‘skirt’ to make tunnelling under the wire more difficult.

Stability

A house than can be easily tipped or blown over will be uncomfortable for the occupants and not very secure either. Should you be in a particularly exposed area, or plan to keep your chickens in a field with other animals, stability will be especially important.

Weatherproofing

Chickens cope well with the cold but not with damp or draughts. If the house leaks or the doors don’t fit properly, there will soon be respiratory problems amongst your flock.

Look for a roof with a good pitch and an overhang that sheds water away from the house. Avoid roofing felt, as this can be a great hiding place for red mite. Corrugated metal roofing can result in condensation unless it is well-insulated. Onduline is a popular choice.

Onduline roof on one of Tom’s Chicken Houses.

Ventilation

Although draughts should be avoided, it’s essential that chickens have air in their house – both in summer and winter. Excess heat is much worse for them than cold, and hot, stale air will cause health issues. Bear in mind that chickens do most of their droppings at night.

A chicken-house should be fitted with ventilation slots or wire-covered windows, preferably situated at the top of the house and not opposite each other. Sometimes ventilation is adjustable, allowing you to moderate the airflow according to the temperature and wind direction.

This vent can be adjusted and has small gauge mesh to stop predators.

The house should be raised at least a few inches above ground level so that air can circulate underneath, and to discourage vermin from making homes there. A coop that is raised higher than this allows the chickens to shelter beneath it, and is useful if space is limited.

Light

Some houses have a plastic ‘window’ to let in light. This can help stimulate egg-laying, but your flock will start stirring at dawn. If you don’t want them up and about too early (especially in summer), choose a house that will remain in darkness.

Insulation

Plastic coops require good insulation to keep the temperature stable and avoid condensation. A well-made wooden coop shouldn’t need any further insulation.

Space

It’s usually best to allow more space than the manufacturer suggests. If the coop is advertised as being large enough for four to six chickens, assume a maximum of four. Over-stocking causes bullying and can lead to health issues. There is more information about average sizes below under chicken house dimensions.

Perches

If there isn’t sufficient space on the perches, some chickens will end up on the floor. Not all chickens get along, and the dominant ones may refuse to allow subordinates to roost next to them – think of trying to get a crowd of unruly children to all sleep in one bed!

Chickens tuck themselves down to sleep, resting their breasts on the perches. Narrow or round perches will be uncomfortable and cause them problems.

If there are several perches make sure they aren’t directly underneath each other.

Heavy breeds of chickens need low-level perches so they don’t injure themselves when jumping down

Nest-Boxes

Look for nest-boxes with outside access to save having to open up the coop every time you want to check for eggs.

Nest-boxes should be lower than the perches or the chickens will roost in them, leading to dirty nesting material and mucky eggs.

Access for chickens

There should be a small door (a pop-hole) for the chickens to access their house. Sometimes the pop-hole door is on hinges and pulls down to form a little ramp. Alternatively the door may slide vertically or horizontally – runners on horizontally sliding doors can become clogged up over time.

If you think an automatic pop-hole closer would be useful (and they certainly are), then check the door is suitable to be operated with this device.

Access for you

You’ll need easy access to the henhouse so you can check on your chickens and clean them out. If the house comes with an attached run, make sure you can get into it without difficulty.

Ease of cleaning

Your chickens will need a good clean out at least once a week, so make life easy for yourself by ensuring the job will be as straightforward as possible. Too many fancy features and crevices will give you hours of fun cleaning them, as well as making it even more difficult if you have to get rid of red mite.

Perches should be removable so they can be taken out and scraped. A removable droppings tray under the perches is a useful feature, as are detachable nest boxes. Some houses can be taken apart completely and this is a real bonus at spring-cleaning time.

Be careful if considering a second-hand wooden coop. Parasites can lay dormant in an empty house for months, and it can be difficult to ensure they have all been eradicated. This is less of a problem with plastic coops which are easier to clean thoroughly.

Manoeuvrability

If you are planning to move a large coop regularly, look for a model with wheels or skids. Test it out first though to make sure the wheels are adequate for the structure and it can be moved around easily.

This Eglu Go Up has wheels that can be lowered to move it onto fresh ground.

Look before you leap

It’s always better to see the actual house before buying so that you can check everything for yourself. Pictures can be misleading and cheap imitations of reputable housing may be offered on-line.

Chicken house dimensions

Average dimensions given here are for medium-sized hens. Males are often bigger than hens of the same breed, and large combs may need extra headroom to avoid damage.

Increase proportions overall if you are housing one of the more substantial breeds, such as Brahmas or Orpingtons.

Floor space

Coop: minimum 30cm square per chicken.

Run: absolute minimum of one square metre (preferably two) per bird.

Perches

Size: 5cm square (even for small breeds) with the top edges rounded off.

Perch space: 25-30cm per bird with at least 30cm between perches and room for the tallest chickens to stand upright.

Nest-boxes

Each box: 30cm square

One box for every three hens

Ideally positioned lower than perches to prevent roosting in nest-boxes at night.

Pop-holes

35cm high by 30cm wide

A suitable ramp or step / ladder to reach it if the coop is raised off the ground.

Next why not read our companion guide: UK Manufacturers of Chicken Coops [coming soon!]- A list of every wooden and plastic chicken house manufacturer in the UK we’ve found with guidance on buying cheaper imported coops.

]]>https://poultrykeeper.com/housing-chickens/chicken-houses-the-ultimate-guide/feed/08163Dutch Vet Tour Helps British Farmers Cut Antibiotic Usehttps://poultrykeeper.com/poultry-news/dutch-vet-tour-helps-british-farmers-cut-antibiotic-use/
https://poultrykeeper.com/poultry-news/dutch-vet-tour-helps-british-farmers-cut-antibiotic-use/#respondThu, 23 Nov 2017 08:02:37 +0000https://poultrykeeper.com/?p=8457Farmers in the Netherlands have slashed their antibiotic usage by more than 60% since 2007, and British vets are using their experiences to help UK farmers meet their own reduction targets.

In a recent tour of British and Dutch farms, organised by Applied Bacterial Control (ABC) – a firm founded by a group of vets to target antibiotic reduction – delegates learnt about the importance of adopting an holistic approach to support animal health while reducing medicine usage.

“In the UK, antibiotic use in farming has reached a record low, following a 27% reduction in the past two years,” explains Richard Turner, director at ABC. “But there are further targets to meet in the coming years, and it’s important to share best practice so farmers and vets can learn from their peers elsewhere in the world.”

As part of the tour, delegates visited three poultry farms in the UK, which are using probiotics and natural acids to promote gut health. Faccenda, which owns the farms, starts by treating the chicks in the hatchery with a probiotic gel. It then treats the water on the farms with natural acids, both to sanitise the water and to create a gut environment that favours beneficial bacteria while inhibiting damaging bacteria. Finally, it uses a yeast extract to prevent pathogens from attaching to the intestinal wall, with essential oils to support the immune system at times of stress.

“Over the past 18 months we’ve reduced our antibiotic use by 70% while also lowering mortality rates, and this system has been a valuable aspect of our improved performance,” explains Stewart Newlands, general manager of the broiler division at Faccenda. “We are finishing the birds 100g heavier and half a day earlier. Our pharmacy looks like Holland & Barrett, but it does work.”

In the UK, poultry producers are leading the way, having slashed antibiotic usage by 71% between 2012 and 2016. However, other sectors are further behind, and could learn a lot both from the British poultry sector and livestock producers further afield, says Mr Turner.

“As vets, we need to change our mentality, and go back to understanding the science. It’s about better biosecurity, identifying and treating sickness earlier, and using everything in the toolkit to support animal health and prevent diseases taking hold.”

In the Netherlands, ABC visited two pig farms, a calf rearing unit, a feed mill and two natural product manufacturers, exploring how the industry has managed to cut antibiotic use from 565t a year in 2007 to 176t in 2016. “In 2008 we had the highest use of antibiotics in livestock in the EU,” explains vet Rick Janssen, president of the European Association of Porcine Health Management. The government introduced a series of reduction targets, and the industry had to work out how to meet them.

The result is that Dutch farms now have to have a dedicated vet, who must visit every four weeks and draw up an annual farm health plan. In-feed antibiotics and preventative antibiotics are banned, as are certain antibiotics which are critical to human health, such as third and fourth generation cephalosporins. Group medication can only be prescribed by the vet, and broad-spectrum antibiotics can only be used after laboratory tests, with stringent recording and benchmarking of all medicine use.

However, removing all of this medication could compromise animal welfare, so many farmers and vets have adopted holistic approaches to boost natural health and immunity, says Mr Janssen. “Vaccine sales increased by 120% between 2010 and 2016, while veterinary advice sales increased by 23.5%.”

Erik Boer, a vet at the Vechtdal practice, says farmers and vets had previously used antibiotics as a kind of insurance. “It’s been a mindset switch, improving the environment, water and feed, and looking at other products. The use of garlic and other natural extracts has increased significantly – you can improve the animal’s immunity and help them to keep eating when they are ill so that they can eliminate the infection more easily.”

With scientific understanding of the microbiome improving all the time, it’s exciting to see the benefits of working with good bacteria to combat disease more naturally, adds Mr Turner. “There is no silver bullet to replace antibiotics, but with better farm management and immune support maybe we don’t need one. Improved animal health and reduced medicine use is a win-win all round.”

For further information call 01743 718325 or visit www.appliedbacterialcontrol.com

]]>https://poultrykeeper.com/poultry-news/dutch-vet-tour-helps-british-farmers-cut-antibiotic-use/feed/08457How Comfortable Are You with Duck & Goose Down Production?https://poultrykeeper.com/blog/duck-goose-down-production/
https://poultrykeeper.com/blog/duck-goose-down-production/#respondThu, 10 Nov 2016 19:43:20 +0000https://poultrykeeper.com/?p=8246When I was a small child back in the seventies we had a family eider down. It was a hand me (eider) down from my great grandparents. I loved the eider down, I used it whenever I was feeling poorly or cold in bed. It was a beautiful thing finished in silk with intricate embroidery. The only thing I wasn’t too keen on was that it made me sneeze, in fact it made the whole family sneeze, as did anything stuffed with feathers, including Francis Drake, our cheeky Khaki Campbell drake.

Not once did I ponder on the filling of the eider down. Even though the garden, (and sometimes kitchen), was home to ducks and geese, I doubt I even knew what an eider duck was. 40 years later and I am well educated in all things ‘duck’. The eider also happens to be my favourite species. I would like to think that the comforting old eider down was indeed stuffed with just that. However after the recent expose on the production of down, I have a nasty feeling that its’ filling may have been more sinister.

It would seem that authentic eider-down duvets are something of a rarity. Statistics on eider-down harvesting state that each year, roughly 3500 kg of hand picked eider down is produced worldwide with 3000 kg originating from Iceland (the rest from Canada). It takes approximately 1.2 kg of down to make one eider down duvet, meaning there can only be around 3000 authentic eider down duvets produced each year. Priced at £6000.00, it’s no wonder even the Queen is rumored to be swapping to duvets!

Eider down harvesting

Eider down is harvested respectfully by Icelandic farmers from colonies of common eiders nesting on their land. The farmers remove the down from the nest leaving enough to keep the eggs warm. In return for these stolen treasures the farmers try to protect the nesting birds from predation, a peaceful, symbiotic relationship, between man and bird. Sadly the same cannot be said for commercial down production.

A Female Eider Duck. Photo courtesy of the author.

Being a duck enthusiast I thought I may one day treat myself to a trip to see the eiders at the Varanger Peninsula in arctic Norway, so I looked into buying myself a nice warm jacket. Being a bit choosy about where any animal based products originate from I decided to do some research into down jackets. I was horrified. I assumed that any feather or down products, including coats, sleeping bags, bedding etc would be filled with feathers that were a by-product of the meat industry, something that would otherwise be wasted. I assumed wrong. The truth was far more sinister it was in fact, so horrendous that I could barely believe it was legal.

The industry

The down production industry is something out of my worst nightmares. It seemed at the time I was not the only one looking into this, as reports into the industry started to appear in the national news.

Down is mostly produced in China, Hungary, Ukraine and Poland. It is almost impossible to accurately state figures but reports state that up to 50-80% of the worlds down production has come from live plucked birds or birds used for foie gras production, which is also considered to be one of the most abhorrent acts of cruelty known to man.

Live plucking is exactly as it sounds. The feathers are plucked while the birds are restrained, tearing of the skin is commonplace and at no point is there any pain medication given to the birds. How comforting does your feather filled bedding seem now?

Image Right: Down production in Hungary. (Image courtesy of Four Paws).

So, I thought, surely this cannot be legal? Technically it isn’t in Europe, however loopholes in legislation still allow the practice of ‘live harvesting’ where producers claim to harvest down from birds that are going through their moult period.

Parent flocks are more at risk from this as they are only used for laying eggs during the winter, so harvesting down is a way to make more revenue per animal. Sadly however, in China, live plucking is widespread and legal.

My first thought after discovering this horrific information was that it must be a small percentage of the industry tolerating these production methods and that surely the bigger more seemingly ethical brands making down and feather coats, sleeping bags and bedding would not tolerate this kind of cruelty, so I contacted various companies to enquire where they sourced their down and feathers.

Image Right: My geese certainly don’t look like this during a ‘natural’ moult. (Image courtesy of Four Paws).

Not one company could tell me where their down was sourced or how it was produced. A couple of brands were aware of the issues surrounding down and feather production as it had been bought to their attention by the international animal welfare charity Four Paws. In effect this meant that if I bought a product containing down or feathers, there was no way of knowing if the product came from live plucked or force-fed ducks and geese.

Standards

Thankfully, due to the work of Four Paws, a few brands and producers have been working together to set up system whereby the down and feathers in their products can be transparently traced. The Responsible Down Standard and the Global Traceable Down Standard (GTDS) were launched in 2015 and fully traceable down filled products are now available from a limited number of companies.

Naturally I wanted to find out more about these ‘standards’ and the brands that have signed up to them. I have some friends with what you can call ‘interesting’ jobs and as luck would have it, one happens to be an inspector for the Global Traceable Down Standard certification scheme. Naturally I grilled said friend and I am pleased to report that some headway is being made in the down production business with the GTDS in place.

Certification from The GTDS (which seems to be the most thorough of the two current schemes) ensures that brand manufacturers can acquire fully traceable down and feathers. While the important issues such as no-live plucking and no force feeding are prioritized, the scheme inspection also ensures that good practice is emphasized at every point in the supply chain ensuring full compliance with relevant animal welfare legislation. This in itself is big step forward in what has in the past something of a ‘hidden’ industry.

The GTDS inspection process goes right back to parent farms. The parent flocks lay the eggs, which will then become meat birds from which down and feathers are harvested after slaughter. As previously mentioned, the parent flocks live much longer than their offspring and these are the ones that in non GTDS certified farms can be exploited for their down during non productive periods, with down being ‘harvested’ up to 3 times a year.

Which brands can you trust?

It isn’t all positive news though as at the time of writing, only a handful of brands have signed up to these standards so far, but it is a very new scheme and hopefully more and more brands will get on board, hopefully including bedding and furnishing brands.

So what if you are really desperate for a down jacket? Your safest bet at present is to buy from Patagonia or The North Face. Better still buy clothing made using Primaloft, a synthetic down replacement that, according to my lunatic friends who climb ice covered mountains, actually performs far better than down, especially in damp conditions.

Sadly bedding and furnishing manufacturers are still not quite there in terms of tracability, so at present you still cant be sure if the down and feathers you could be lounging on are not from live plucked or foie gras ducks and geese…… that is unless you have a spent £6000.00 for an authentic eider down or you have harvested the filling from your own flock of eider ducks!*

Further Information

For more information on the standards and down production check out the following websites:

*I realise there will be eider duck owners reading this wondering how long it will take them to gather enough down for a decent bedspread.

]]>https://poultrykeeper.com/blog/duck-goose-down-production/feed/08246Why is my Cockerel White?https://poultrykeeper.com/poultry-breeding/why-is-my-cockerel-white/
https://poultrykeeper.com/poultry-breeding/why-is-my-cockerel-white/#respondThu, 28 Jul 2016 20:30:02 +0000https://poultrykeeper.com/?p=8168My first flock of hens were some Warren Browns, and were essentially spent stock from a local egg producer. My first cockerel was a traditionally coloured farmyard fowl that was somewhere in between large fowl and bantam in size, but after getting no results with fertility we opted to try a different route.

My uncle had bought me 2 Light Sussex hens from Walton in Liverpool, and these to me were just magic. So we managed to obtain a Light Sussex cockerel and hatched 6 chicks out of 42 eggs. The flock consisted of a good 20 Warrens as well as the 2 Light Sussex females.

Results of crosses between Light Sussex male and Warren Brown females

All chicks were yellow, to our delight, and they feathered up very convincingly like Light Sussex. So much so, in fact, that I assumed they must be pure, but what were the chances?

The next few chicks to hatch were all yellow, but I noticed that a good half of them feathered up all white without the striking black markings that contrast so well with the white body plumage, especially around the neck area.

So what had happened? Why had these white birds – lovely as they were – not inherited the markings of the Light Sussex. It wasn’t till a good 10 years later (when I was learning about plumage genetics) that I began to understand what had happened…

The Light Sussex male had 2 copies (both available copies) of the Silver gene, so was ‘pure’ for Silver. This meant that each of his offspring, male or female, would inherit one copy of this gene. And since this gene is dominant to Gold, it shows quite prominently when the fowl in question has just a single copy of the gene. Also, the Warren Browns are very similar to Light Sussex in their genetics – i.e carrying the genes that extend colour into the breast and over most of the body (except neck, wings and tail).

Given this knowledge, it can be reasonably deduced that the chances of all 6 chicks from the first hatch being pure Light Sussex were fairly slim, and rather that the dominant genes of the father were showing through – despite their mothers (likely) being Warren Browns.

A Light Sussex male – he has 2 copies of the Silver gene

So how come solid white birds emerged from the same cross? Have you ever noticed that Warren Browns have white markings where the Light Sussex has black markings? This is caused by a gene called dominant white, which changes the colour of the feather from black to white. We know from their very presence that they are a cross, so unlikely to be carrying this gene purely, so it was most likely just chance that the first 6 chicks didn’t inherit this gene, whereas clearly a few of the next batch did. Of course, one of their mum’s could have been pure Light Sussex, but not all 6.

A Warren Brown. She has a copy of the cominant white gene

To sum up, a Light Sussex male has the gene to turn red feathers white, and the Warren Brown has the gene to turn black pigment white. When the birds in the breeding pen involve each of these varieties, there is a 50% chance of producing completely white birds.
This is just one of the ways of arriving at a white plumage in poultry and you can read more about this in Poultry plumage: How it begins

Well, for the Club’s second Poultry Club of Great Britain Regional Show, held on Valentine’s day 14th February 2016, the love of poultry keeping was certainly in the air with a Valentine theme for the day.

The show had a total entry of 675, made up of 555 birds and 120 egg entries. Joining us for the day we welcomed five judges Mr Chris Parker: Hard Feather, Juniors and Rare Breeds. Mr Joe Harrison: Soft Feather and Waterfowl. Mr Tim Moss: True bantams plus Utility and Trio classes. Mrs Julia Jessop: True Bantam (Seramas) and Mr Tim McNeight: Egg classes. The biggest class was the True Bantams with 191 entries, 81 being Seramas, hence the need to appoint a specialist breed club judge and Julia Jessop stepped in leaving Tim Moss with 110 True bantams, 72 of which were Pekins.

The club was delighted to be able to award a number of new trophies and awards, notably two new shields donated by the Northants Native Breeds Club. A new Waterfowl trophy donated by Mrs June Wilson, Junior Handler Cup donated by the Anthony family, Best Utility fowl cup donated by Mr Colin Wood, Best Trio Cup donated by Elaine Oliver and 3 trophies including best Serama trophy donated by the Anderson-Howe family.

The second hall featured a number of trade stalls including the Rare Breeds Survival Trust, British Waterfowl Association, Brinsea incubators, Fowl Play Books, and show sponsors Bagforce.

The Club is extremely grateful to all the supporters and helpers for all their hard work over the weekend and now look forward to the Club’s Egg show on Saturday 21st May 2016 at Crick Village Hall Northamptonshire NN6 7SX .

Meet Wayward. Wayward is a wild mallard duckling, pictured here at 3 weeks old. Wayward was found alone at only a day old. For about 5 months a year I take in lots of ducklings, just like Wayward. Some are found alone, some are found in small groups. All have been left behind or lost their way during the arduous trek that their mothers take to lead them to water after hatch.

Mallards typically have a successful of hatch between 9-16 ducklings. By 2-3 weeks, they usually have only 2-3 left, if they are lucky. Mallard mums often loose some during the first 24 hours. After all, time is of the essence, she cant hang around for stragglers or inquisitive offspring that don’t follow her determined march to water, often through what must seem like a deadly obstacle course for her tiny day old balls of fluff. That said, a determined mallard mum being followed by a group of brown and yellow ducklings is a common sight in spring months (often along busy roads accompanied by police escorts).

Ducklings and goslings are termed as nidifugous or precocial, when they hatch, they are ready to go, so to speak unlike altricial species of birds such as songbirds and raptors. At hatch, precocial birds are have large brains, open eyes, are covered in down and are fully mobile (but not flighted). Altricial species can be hatched blind, naked, immobile and reliant on their parents for food.

So here you have mother mallard, exhausted and malnourished from 28 days of sitting with a long journey on foot ahead of her and a brood of energetic, inquisitive, very mobile independent ducklings. How on earth does she get them to follow her?

Konrad Lorenz

Imprinting was described beautifully by Konrad Lorenz and his flock of graylag geese in the 1930’s.

Lorenz described two types of imprinting in regard to waterfowl. Fillial and sexual. Fillial imprinting describes the process by which the offspring relate to the ‘mother’ figure and sexual imprinting determines who they choose as mating partners later in life.

Fillial Imprinting

Fillial imprinting occurs during what is termed a ‘critical or sensitive’ period just after hatching, typically during the first 24-48 hours of life. During this time the duckling will learn to follow its mother who is usually the first large moving creature it sees. The so called ‘critical’ period can also be the period in development prior to the onset of fear of novelty which appears to develop at about day three in ducklings.

The biological science behind imprinting can get quite complex and later research by Howard Hoffman postulates that the duckling receives stimulation that is comforting when some aspect of the object (for example, its shape or its texture or its motion) has the capacity to innately stimulate the production of endorphins.

So back to Wayward duckling. He was bought to me at no more than 48 hours old. He needed me to provide him with warmth and protection from predators, he is alone in the world, all he has is me. He spends his days snuggling in his woolly hat, snoozing under his brooder with his teddy bear companion, splashing in the bath or helping me do the gardening on sunny days. He wanders a few feet away from me, then visibly panics and comes scuttling back and stands by my feet. Its all VERY inappropriate, how will he possibly survive in the wild, clearly I am going to need to invest in a duck size handbag for him to reside in for the next 20 years. Or am I?

Luckily for me, and for Wayward, he was wild hatched. The first thing he saw was his mum (who I am assuming was a mallard duck). Those first hours in his life were indeed critical. Although he was willing to take warmth and safety from me, given the chance, Wayward would be off stalking any mallard he could get to take notice of him (which on several occasion’s he did, much to the annoyance of the mallards in question).

At three weeks old his desire to follow me was overwhelmed by his desire to be with my adult mallards, as such there was a great deal of me following him instead of him following me in order to keep him from disappearing off onto our lake. Wayward was starting to earn his name.

Despite being essentially raised by a human, because a mallard was the first thing Wayward saw when he hatched, he imprinted on it. Wayward left at about 9 weeks old with my resident wild flock of mallards. If I had been the first thing he saw when he hatched, it’s likely he would currently be paddling all over my keyboard demanding attention looking at the wild flock of mallards thinking ‘what on earth are they’.

Various questionable ‘research’ over the years has shown that chicks and ducklings will imprint on just about anything, from a wellington to a light bulb. This can cause some interesting behavioural traits in the future. It can be quite embarrassing in company when your friendly garden mallard comes and flattens herself out at your feet demanding you mate with her and the Muscovy drake you hand reared is humping your wellie boot.

Generally filial imprinting is reported to be irreversible, however with a lot of time and patience some cases of inappropriate filial imprinting can be manipulated to redirect the bird to associate with a more suitable species.

Sexual Imprinting

Sexual imprinting occurs over a longer time period and shapes the choices a bird makes in regard to choosing a mate in the future. In short, it is the formation of sexual preferences that are expressed later in life. It is expressed only at sexual maturity and is shaped by experiences up to that time. This ensures species mate with their own kind, however anecdotal evidence appears to suggest mallards will mate with anything going…

Waterfowl may often choose a mate based on what their ‘parents’ looked like. However this varies depending on whether the youngster is male or female and if the parents show sexual dimorphism. So, while a male mallard duckling will identify his future mate by relating it to the appearance of his mother (or attachment figure), the same does not apply for a female. Some reports suggest female mallards show a preference for whom they have been reared with regardless of plumage (or indeed species). A hand reared drake is quite likely to display sexual behaviour towards both humans and female ducks.

Sexual imprinting appears to be a two stage process where the individual learns the characteristics of it’s parents and siblings, the sexual preference is then stabilized or modified according to the species of individual to which the subject is exposed.

Having wild orphan ducklings of all species, I have had scenarios when two different species of single orphan ducks have been raised together. Fast forward a year and I have a wild tufted duck that shuns its own kind, preferring the company of malllards, they don’t speak the same language but I am sure the language of love will overcome any such barriers, I am expecting some tufty mallard hybrids in the future.

Imprinting is a fascinating and complex behaviour, varying greatly between species. This is by no means a comprehensive guide and further reading is suggested starting with the work of Konrad Lorenz.

]]>https://poultrykeeper.com/blog/imprinting-ducks-geese/feed/07844Barred Wyandotteshttps://poultrykeeper.com/blog/barred-wyandottes/
https://poultrykeeper.com/blog/barred-wyandottes/#respondSun, 13 Mar 2016 20:30:10 +0000http://www.bedfordshire-poultry.co.uk/?p=3738Grant Brereton, a leading authority on poultry plumage genetics examines the Barred Wyandotte and provides some tips on their genetics and breeding.

According to David Scrivener’s Popular Poultry Breeds, although an American breed, the Barred variety of Wyandotte was actually created in Germany through crossings of Barred Rocks and Black Wyandottes (as well as possibly Dominiques).

A true-breeding pen. The male clearly having 2 doses of the Barring Gene.

Interestingly, though, the ancestry of these Barred Wyandottes belongs in the US, and certain traits can still be seen today – such as the really long saddle and tail feathers introduced by E. B. Thompson when he crossed his Barred Rocks to a line of Dan Young’s Leghorns.

This was back in the1930’s when production was a crucial part of a strain’s attributes.

The long feathers still seen in the large Barreds today are thought to have been introduced when Dan Young crossed his White Leghorns to Phoenix and Proto-Phoenix (Onagadori) lines. (Ref: Brian Reeder & Dan J Honour).

Photo Right: The long tail and saddle feathers are still in many lines of Barred Wyandottes, introduced by American breeder E. B. Thompson, whose Plymouth Rocks had some Dan Young Leghorn and Phoenix-based blood in them.

Current position

The large Barred Wyandottes in the UK have a lot of foreign blood in them. They are mainly Dutch and German-derived stock, and birds have been imported from the Continent for decades.

Other strains on our shores have Plymouth Rock blood in them, as do the Continental specimens (as well as Amrock). Breeders home and abroad are on a constant quest to produce Barred Wyandottes akin to the finely barred Rocks, but the rounded feathers of the Wyandotte make this rather challenging.

Complex subject

The subject of barring in poultry can get really complex if you delve deep enough – it’s easy enough to understand how the dosage effects work (the basics), but the fine details are a different matter…

The black and white bars need to be as ‘even as possible’ in the UK (not one stripe wider than the other), but this can be really difficult to achieve – particularly all over the body. You can pick out a feather that looks perfect on the back of a pullet, for example, but then the surrounding feathers sometimes aren’t of the same quality. Quite what causes this variation in the same bird is little understood (only diligent selection can fix it).

Of course, we don’t help ourselves in calling for a standard similar to the Plymouth Rock. Exhibition males are required to be just as dark as the females, and this means that both sexes can’t be produced from the same ‘true-breeding’ pen (the females may be correct, but the males will always be too light).

In Holland and Germany, Barred males and females are bred from the same pen, but the males are ‘too light’ for the UK show bench.

Pullet breeders?

Genetically, Barred females can only carry a single dose of the barring gene, so if they carry it, they show it. Males, in contrast, are more complex. Because they can carry either 1 or 2 doses of the barring gene, what they produce (respectively) varies when paired with a Barred female…

The light males (as mentioned), will produce only light males and Barred females when bred with Barred females. These birds are ‘true-breeding’ and it works because barring is ‘sex-linked’ and the males in question carry both copies of the barring gene.

The exhibition (dark) males in the UK are rare – probably because they don’t breed true. When paired with a Barred female, a dark-Barred male will produce the following: Barred females, Black females, light-Barred males, and dark-Barred males (as himself), so you can see why it’s an unattractive prospect for breeders. These dark males often (as do all Barred pullets), have occasional black feathers throughout the body.

The black feathers that occasionally appear in Barred females and Dark-Barred males.

The term ‘Pullet-breeder’ is generally (and incorrectly) assigned to the light males, with the thinking being that they only produce Barred pullets rather than both Barred and Black pullets (which is true). However, to call them ‘Pullet-breeders’ isn’t quite correct, because to be given the prestige title of ‘Pullet- breeder,’ the male in question must have proved his worth in the breeding pen and sired excellent pullets.

Producing the Exhibition Type

There is, of course, a way to produce 100% dark males from a breeding pen, but this will require a bit of planning. As mentioned, these dark males don’t breed true, so it will be necessary to locate one of their Black daughters (these usually have black legs). It’s
important that the black female is the daughter of a dark-Barred male – she will carry the right genes for Barring right to the skin and slow feathering. Not any old Black Wyandotte female will do!

A light-Barred and Dark Barred male next to each other for comparison

Once you have the correct Black female, you need to locate a light-Barred male (preferably a son of a dark-Barred male), and then breed them together. This should produce males and females of the same exhibition quality – the males will be as dark as the females and ideally, the black bars will have a beetle-green-sheen when viewed in natural light.

Faults to avoid

Despite strict breeding, it can be very difficult to produce a Barred Wyandotte with overall good qualities. Barring can fail in many ways: it can be blurry (where the black runs into the white), or one of the shades can be too wide – often the white part.

An ‘Inbetweener’ male (visually). These males are usually carrying 2 doses of the Barring Gene, but it isn’t always obvious as they are rather ambiguous in appearance.

The only real way forward with Barred Wyandottes is to create a close family unit that produces consistent quality barring. Otherwise, the years of hard work and selection can be undone in a single mating. Outcrosses should be carried out with great caution and attention should be paid to the source of the stock used for such purposes.

]]>https://poultrykeeper.com/blog/barred-wyandottes/feed/03738Incubation Humidityhttps://poultrykeeper.com/incubating-and-hatching-eggs/incubation-humidity/
https://poultrykeeper.com/incubating-and-hatching-eggs/incubation-humidity/#commentsSun, 06 Mar 2016 19:50:07 +0000https://poultrykeeper.com/?p=7116Advice on incubation humidity varies wildly from different sources and it seems to be a constant worry to newcomers who are incubating their first few batches of eggs.

One of the sources of confusion with humidity comes from incubator manufacturers, since there are a number of recommendations in their manuals that suggest different values of humidity as being the ‘optimum’. Many of these manufacturers are based in hot countries so when applying their recommendations in the UK, often the results aren’t as expected, or aren’t even achievable. For example, we can’t dry the air coming into an incubator from outside, so there will always be a minimum level of humidity achievable, even without adding water and this will vary from day-to-day as the climate changes.

When incubating eggs and hatching chicks, there are always far more failures caused by the humidity having being too high so why is this?

First lets consider the ‘perfect’ case

Eggs have porous shells and during the incubation process, a certain amount of moisture is lost through the shell. As the weight of the egg decreases, the air sac at the blunt end of the egg increases.

By monitoring the size of the air sac through candling, the correct weight loss can be achieved so that at the point of hatching, the membrane into the air sac is brittle allowing a chick to break through (this is called internal pipping) taking its first few breaths of air with minimal effort and reserving most of its energy for breaking out of the shell.

Candling allows you to monitor the size of the air sac.

Once a chick has absorbed the yolk sac, it is then ready to pip the external shell and by rotating around inside the shell, he (or hopefully she!) is able to remove enough of the shell to push its way out and hatch.

If the incubation humidity is too high

When the humidity is too high, less moisture is lost from the egg and as a result, the air sac is too small in size, the membrane is less brittle and much more rubbery. Think of the air sack like a small balloon: once inflated, it’s easy to pop but while deflated, it remains thick and rubbery.

A chick trying to break through this membrane can expend too much energy, or can suffocate from a lack of oxygen before it manages to break through.

In addition to the difficulties a chick will have with internal pipping, if the egg hasn’t lost enough moisture, the chick cannot rotate inside the shell and becomes stuck. The fluid around it dries out once the chick has pipped making life even more difficult. Unable to break free from the shell, it will eventually die.

So what is the correct incubation humidity?

For still air incubation, in the UK, usually no water needs to be added but for forced air incubation (incubators with a fan that circulate the air around, trying to maintain a constant temperature throughout) then there are some guidelines given that generally state 45% for chickens and slightly less for waterfowl. The reality though is that the porosity of eggshells vary (becoming more porous later on in the year) and vary between different breeds and with different thickness of shell, so the correct humidity is whatever achieves the correct moisture or weight loss from the egg which is generally somewhere between 11 and 13% when the air sack occupies approximately a third of the egg at the point of internal pipping.

The best way to do this is either by recording the weight of the eggs using some accurate scales, (see my article on the weight loss method for incubation) or more simply by candling your eggs and comparing the size of the air sac to a diagram that shows the ideal size on different days of the incubation period.

If the air sac is too large, the eggs are losing too much moisture and you need to increase incubation humidity and conversely if the air sac is too small, decrease humidity so the eggs can lose moisture faster.

A candling lamp like this one is an essential tool for incubation. It allows you to shine light into an egg and in a dark room, check whether it is fertile as well as monitoring the progress of the air sac to make adjustments in humidity.

The Reading and District Bantam Society Championship show was held last weekend (27th-28th February) and I was again really pleased to be invited to take photos.

With 2256 bird and egg entries and more than 500 people coming through the door, the show continues to be the most important event for fanciers interested in bantams. This year, the championship judge was Andrew Wetters who chose a beautiful white Wyandotte pullet exhibited by Allan Brooker as the Best in Show and a lovely white female Pekin Bantam exhibited by Mr and Mrs Simms as the Reserve Best in Show.

If you had a bird photographed and would like a copy of the high-resolution images, then please email me (admin@poultrykeeper.com) if you haven’t already and I will send them out to you over the next few days.

My thanks go to the Reading and District Bantam Society committee who made me feel extremely welcome and clearly worked very hard to make this show such a success.

The Results

Here are the results from the show.

Congratulations to Allan Brooker, the Best In Show with his beautiful white Wyandotte and Mr and Mrs Sims with their White Pekin Bantam as Reserve Best in Show.